COLUMBUS – A man who exchanged gunfire with Columbus SWAT team officers at a home in North Linden Sunday morning is recovering after being shot by police.
UPDATE 4/4/23 8:51 a.m.: This article has been edited to include the name of the officer involved in the incident.
Dispatchers received a call just before 9:00 a.m. reporting that a was inside a home in the 2000 block of Azelda Street with a firearm and wanted to “shoot it out with the police,” according to a release from the Division of Police.
SWAT personnel responded to the scene after police learned that the man, identified as Rodriguez Fitzgerald had warrants out for his arrest for violent felonies, police said.
Shortly before noon, the wanted male came out of the home, firing at officers.
Officer Rodney Mayberry, a 25-year veteran of the division assigned to SWAT, returned fire, striking Fitzgerald.
Officers performed first aid on the 202-year-old man until paramedics arrived and took him to a hospital where he was listed in critical condition but was later upgraded to stable condition and is expected to survive his injuries, police said.
Fitzgerald has multiple warrants out for his arrest, including felonious assault, discharge into a habitation, aggravated menacing and domestic violence, and will now be charged with felonious assault against a police officer as a result of this incident.
No other injuries were reported.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the officer-involved shooting.